What should I blog about today?

As part of my transition from Wordpress to Tumblr, I’m going to be importing my top 10 posts from mrcrowder.wordpress.com into this blog. Here’s #10

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This last week or so has been tough on blog life. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to blog, or haven’t thought of content—it’s just been this perfect storm of thinking of content when I’m not around a computer/really busy when I’m at the computer/not having the energy to flesh out content enough to warrant writing about it. Does that make sense? I’m sure it happens to all of us. Except some people, who I won’t mention, that update their blog 4-5 times a week with a ton of comments that are heaving on praxis, theology, or philosophical content. Who has that much time to flesh that stuff out when they’re not getting paid to write or blog? Unless they’re like my friend Andrew, who’s unemployed self-employed.

Here’s the truth: there are a lot of times when I want to blog about stuff, particularly about aspects that concern my job (YA ministry, small groups, community formation), that I refrain because I don’t want to be objective and completely analytical. I’d rather be moody and prosaic than professional. The problem with this attitude is that, a few months or a year down the road, I’d probably look back on this or that post about “young adult ministry” and think “what was I thinking? #*!&^? I said that?” Because I want to talk off the top of my head and not have to process it to the nth degree. Because after I’ve spent all the energy processing it, I don’t want to blog about it. Because blog writing is about community, not about writing a book. I want to be able to throw stuff out there and be wrong (come on, maybe partially wrong?). I want people to read it and push back because I want conversation and not the final word. Even if they don’t comment or I never know it, I want someone to read it and kick it around. It doesn’t have to be “right.”

But I’m worried about it. I’m worried that I’ll say something that will strike someone the wrong way and because not everyone’s as “connected” as would be the ideal(for this scenario. The “ideal” of a connected culture is much debated) I give off negative impressions and never get the chance to follow-up on something.

I don’t like to explain or work through every thought or concept. I’d like to be able just to throw it out there when the urge strikes me. So if I become a little more liberal with my thinking on life, religion, and spirituality: You’ve been warned.